Your back still isn’t right, but the company doctor cleared you for “light duty” that doesn’t exist at your job. Your checks stop Friday. Here’s what Michigan law actually says you’re owed.

You’re not imagining it. The system moves fast when it wants to close your file — and slow when you need something from it. Before you sign anything or panic about rent, read this.

The Three Things Michigan Workers’ Comp Is Supposed to Cover

Michigan’s Workers’ Disability Compensation Act gives you three buckets of benefits if you got hurt doing your job. It doesn’t matter if the injury was your fault. It doesn’t matter if you’re hourly, salaried, full-time, or part-time. If you were on the clock, you’re covered.

1. Medical Benefits

Every reasonable and necessary medical expense tied to your work injury is supposed to be paid. That means:

No copays. No deductibles. No “in-network” games. If it’s treatment for your work injury, the insurance carrier pays it.

2. Wage Loss Benefits

If your injury keeps you from earning what you used to earn, workers’ comp pays you a weekly check to make up the difference. We’ll break the math down in the next section because this is where most people get shortchanged.

3. Vocational Rehabilitation

If your injury means you literally cannot go back to the job you had, Michigan is supposed to help you retrain. That can mean job placement services, skills testing, or up to two years of schooling paid for. Most injured workers never hear this exists. Ask about it.

How Michigan Calculates Your Wage Loss Check

This is the number that matters when your bills are due.

Michigan pays 80% of your after-tax average weekly wage. Not 80% of gross. After-tax. The state publishes tables the insurance company uses to figure out your after-tax number based on your gross pay, filing status, and dependents.

Here’s the rough idea:

Your overtime counts. Your second job counts. Fringe benefits you’ve lost (like employer-paid health insurance) can count too.

If the insurance adjuster lowballs your AWW by leaving out overtime or a second job, your weekly check is wrong for the entire life of the claim. That’s thousands of dollars. Always ask to see the AWW worksheet they used.

The Company Doctor vs. Your Doctor

Here’s where a lot of Michigan injuries go sideways.

For the first 28 days after your injury, your employer gets to pick the doctor. That’s the “company doctor” or the clinic the HR person drove you to. Their job, on paper, is to treat you. Their job, in practice, is often to get you back to work as fast as possible so the claim closes.

After 28 days, you have the right to choose your own doctor. You do not need permission. You do not need the adjuster’s blessing. You send written notice that you’re switching, and you go.

This matters because the company doctor is the one who decided you could do “light duty.” Your own doctor — an orthopedist, a neurologist, a specialist who actually looked at your MRI — may see it very differently. And under Michigan law, the judge doesn’t have to believe the company doctor. They can weigh both opinions.

If you’re still hurting and the company clinic keeps clearing you, that’s your signal. Switch.

Denied or Cut Off? You Have Options.

Workers’ comp checks can stop for a lot of reasons, and almost none of them are “because the law says so.”

Common ones:

You can fight every one of these.

The path is a Form C (Application for Mediation or Hearing) filed with Michigan’s Workers’ Compensation Agency (WCA). That gets your case in front of a magistrate — basically a judge who only handles work injury disputes. You can request mediation first, or go straight to a hearing.

You do not owe the insurance company an explanation for filing. You do not need their permission. The WCA is where disputes get decided, not the adjuster’s office.

The deadline to dispute is generally two years from when you knew or should have known your injury was work-related, but don’t wait. Evidence gets stale, witnesses move, and memories fade. If your checks stopped this week, start the paperwork this week.

Redemption Settlements: Lump Sum or Keep the Checks Coming?

At some point, the insurance carrier may offer to “redeem” your claim. That means: one lump-sum payment, and your workers’ comp case is closed forever. No more weekly checks. No more medical coverage for the injury. Done.

This is called a redemption in Michigan, and it has to be approved by a magistrate — the judge has to look you in the eye and make sure you understand what you’re giving up.

When a lump sum can make sense:

When ongoing benefits can make more sense:

There is no “standard” redemption amount. What the insurance carrier offers first is almost never what the claim is actually worth. They’re trying to close a file. You’re trying to cover a lifetime.

Before you sign a redemption, get a second opinion. Once it’s approved, it’s over.

What to Do This Week

  1. Get every piece of paper. Injury report, clinic notes, pay stubs from the last year, any letter from the insurance carrier.
  2. Write down a timeline. When you got hurt, who you told, what was said.
  3. Switch to your own doctor if you’re past 28 days and the company clinic isn’t listening.
  4. Don’t sign a redemption without someone who doesn’t work for the insurance carrier reviewing it first.
  5. Don’t give a recorded statement to the adjuster without understanding what you’re walking into.

You are allowed to ask questions. You are allowed to say no. You are allowed to get a second opinion.

Not sure if your workers’ comp claim is being handled right? Fire My Lawyer is a free second-opinion service for Michigan workers. We’ll look at your case, tell you plainly whether something’s off, and — if it is — match you with a vetted Michigan work injury attorney from our network. No pressure, no sales pitch, no cost to you. Call 1-855-FML-2DAY (1-855-365-2329) or visit FireMyLawyer.com. Your checks stopping on Friday is not the end of the story.